Shadows Of The Past (INDEFINITE HIATUS)
by TheFallenAngel46
Summary: An alternate AU in which Lily Potter is the only one who dies, starring Hope Potter. Troublemaking ran in her blood, so it was no surprise when she became best friends with the Weasley twins. But what happens when one of them begins developing feelings for her? Especially when Hope's already taken a fancy to someone else. [Rated T for language] [I'm bad at summaries]
1. Prologue

Pitter. Patter. Pitter. Patter.

Hazel eyes darted along the dark road, eyes focussing intently on a house several miles away. At that current moment, he felt so many emotions yet at the same time, none at all.

Despite having waited four years for this very moment, the man could not stand to wait even a minute longer. For the first time in so long, he finally felt safe. Safe enough to see his family once more and bring them back with him.

Privet drive. The houses looked identical. The only distinguishment in the neighbourhood was the number adorned on the doors of the individual residences.

The man eventually stopped walking, the lone noise of the rain echoing around as he stepped closer to the door which read the number four.

Almost ironic, he thought to himself. A soft frown on his face, he knocked on the door.

How old would his children be now? His little girl would be six at this point. Harry must be around five. He still remembers the last night he saw them, the body of his wife on the floor and the younger boy in his crib, crying as he looked at the woman on the floor. The killer of his mother and the murderer of many others had been killed by a boy no older than one. The headlines were massive.

"For God's sake, I'm not interest-" The door swung open to reveal a purple faced man who seemed far too large for his own good. He stared in shock for a moment before picking up a finger and waving it at the raven haired person standing before him. "Y-you! You're that _Potter_." He spat out. "Petunia! Petunia, come have a look."

"Calm down, Vernon." Another voice spoke, exasperation clear in Petunia's tone. She walked closer, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears. In constrast to her husband, she was quite thin. "James Potter?! What on Earth-"

"Surprise." James quipped with jazz hands, watching Petunia's reaction with a look of amusement. "I'm not dead!"

"So that must mean... Lily? What about her?" Petunia asked, her eyes widening with a flicker of hope residing in them.

James' expression quickly shifted to a frown. He looked down, shaking his head. "She... She's not... She passed away." It was clear that any sense of confidence had floated away from him as he murmured back a response.

"I always knew you were no good! Now you've gone off and killed her-"

"My, my! Let's stop the baseless accusations. I just want my children back."

"Don't you talk to my wife like that." Vernon retorted, a crease forming between his eyebrows as he done so.

"Where are they? Where's Harry? Where's Hope?" James rushed out, ignoring the words of the plump man as he peered over Vernon's shoulders to try and see if the two were present.

"They're in their room right now, they're currently grounded."

"Well unground them then so I can take them home." He responded, an annoyed expression on his face. The words he was saying became faster and faster. "I'm their dad, I unground them. Power play. I win, you lose."

Petunia gave him an unsteady look before turning to look at her husband who simply nodded in the direction of the staircase behind them. She sighed. Walking to the cupboard under the steps and opening it. Petunia whispered a few words and a moment later, two children walked out - an uneasy look on their face as they both glanced at each other and then at James.

"You made my kids sleep in a cupboard under your shoddy stairs?" He asked, an unpressed look on his face as anger entered his tone.

"Be glad we didn't throw them out the house. Now take them before we change our mind!" Vernon answered. Petunia handed James a carrier bag which had some clothes in it and pushed the children, who were now wearing a coat and shoes, outside the house. "Good riddance." Were the last few words that could be heard as the door was slammed shut.

Letting out a sigh, James turned his attention to the children in front of him. He felt a small smile form on his face. They had the same hair colour as one another, but Harry had emerald eyes whereas Hope had hazel eyes. Yet, she still looked like her mother. From the way her hair flowed to the shape of her nose.

"Hey guys," James started, a gentle expression on his face as he crouched down and looked down at the girl and boy. "Do you remember me?"

Silence. They all stood there (minus James because he was crouching) in the cold for a moment before the girl meekly nodded. "You're our dad." Hope muttered quietly. James' face broke out into a grin and he clasped his hands together.

"Yes! I am." He responded, a gleeful expression on his face. "I'm afraid we can't be out here for much longer. Let's go home first and I promise that I'll explain everything there."

"I don't want to." Harry mumbled, tugging on Hope's sleeve. The older girl shared a worried look with him but ruffled his head.

"It'll be fine," She told him, trading her previous expression for a soft grin. "Trust me."

"I... Okay." The younger boy pursed his lips and said nothing else

James looked at Harry for a moment, hesitantly moving his fringe to reveal the scar on his forehead. "That's still there, it seems." He commented, a hint of sorrow in his voice. Letting out a soft exhale, he stood up. "Right. Let's go now." Taking hold of the two children's hands, he closed his eyes and made a gesture.

In a matter of moments, they had gone from the familar Privet Drive to standing in front of a house twice the size of the Dursleys' residence. Hope stared at the site in awe before churning out and vomitting on the grass.

"That... Yeah, I'll clean that up later." The eldest Potter mumbled to himself, glancing at Harry to see if he'd do the same thing. Apparition tended to have that effect on people at first. "I know you both have lots of questions, so I'll explain everything when we get inside." He told them, walking over to the door of the house and unlocking it. His children walked after him, a nervous look on their face as they done so. Although they knew that he was their father, there was nothing that stopped them from shaking off the anxiety that came with having to now live with someone who was practically a foreigner to them.

As they stepped in, the fortune of their father was evident. Although the house looked generic enough, the smaller details were hard to gloss by. The mahogany flooring, the expensive looking front door, the intricate designs in the ceiling. Walking into the living room, they only proved to be definite about their assumptions of the man's wealth. An extravagant fireplace made out of marble and stone was placed in the middle with two grey chesterfield sofas placed in a L shape. There was no TV but a radio was placed on top of a glass coffee table. Walking over the magnolia planks and to a sofa, the two sat down. Eagerly eyeing everything around them.

"Do you want anything to drink?" James could hear his voice shaking, despite how slight it was, he sounded almost hesitant. Since when had he been so nerve-racked about anything? Yet, looking at the children now, his heart clenched. If only Lily were here, this would've been much easier.

Harry shared a look with his sister, only to shake his head a long moment later. "No thank you. We just want to know what happened."

"Fair enough," James took a seat opposite to them, pushing his glasses up with his knuckles as he looked at his hands. "I... I just want to say I didn't abandon you." He started. "Do you know what happened that day? When your mother... Passed on..."

"You both died." Hope stated after a short while. "That's what we heard anyway. Aunt Petunia said you died in a car crash."

"Of_ course_ she did. Couldn't have made my death anymore anticlimactic, _Bitchunia_." James mumbled to himself. "Looks like I've got a lot of explaining to do."

They sat there for the next hour, James explaining everything that happened. He explained who Voldemort was, how their mother died and how he was outside with Hope at the time and that was the only reason he managed to stay alive. He informed them about the existence of magic, the existence of Hogwarts, all about the marauders and how he fell in love with Lily who was one of the most perfect beings he'd ever meet. He told them how he was in hiding for the past few years even though Voldemort had died, how there were death eaters after him and he didn't want to risk their lives.

"Do you think they're still alive?" The older girl asked.

"Who?"

"Your friends. Moony, Padfoot and... Umm..."

"Wormtail." James finished. "Padfoot is in Azkaban, I know that much. I don't know what happened to Moony but Wormtail... I'm glad he's not."

"Why's that?" Harry piped up.

"Well, I suppose that story of betrayal is available for another time." James paused. "Being a dad is easy, I should've done this earlier. Wait no, then we'd all have died."

The two children shared a look, raising an eyebrow at their father who let out an awkward chuckle. "Soo... Who wants to drink hot chocolate and hear dad talk about Quidditch, the best sport in the wizarding world?"

"We do!"

* * *

**A/N: I hope that wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I reintroduced one of my old characters incase someone who read my old fic noticed that. (Yes. Hope Potter. I really didn't have it in me to change the name.) Initially I was going to continue it or rewrite it but I realised I wasn't exactly fond of the idea and so! Single dad James.**

**This**** was meant to be longer. Oops.**

**Let me know what you thought of this. Thank you!**

**\- Leo**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: The story will be in first person from now on, in the character of Hope.**

**Also****, a quick thank you to ****Rowena Kiara and Queannawoodside** **for leaving a review. Also thank you to all of you who followed and favourited this, it means a lot to me.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Harry Potter**.

* * *

"Why can't you come with us?" I whinged, dragging dad's arm towards the fireplace as if that would make him change his mind.

"I told you, people don't know that I'm alive. Imagine us walking into a store and the shopkeeper gets a heart attack because 'Oh, James Potter is alive!'." He laughed. "Arthur Weasley won't do anything, he's sworn not to tell anyone that I'm alive. Not even his family know."

"Alright." I sighed, staring down at my feet with a pout on my face. "But it'd be much more fun with you there."

"I know right? I do want to go with you." Dad responded with a small frown.

"How about I let you name my owl? Then we're equal!" I offered.

"Well, I suppose something is better than nothing." Dad grinned, ruffling my hair. "I don't like that you're growing up so fast."

"I'm only eleven," I huffed in response. "Compared to me, you're ancient."

"I'm only thirty." He mocked my tone from before and stuck his tongue out at me as I gave him a dirty look. "Where's Harry?"

"He's upstairs. Probably getting dressed. Does he really have to come with me?"

"Yes. First of all, he'll complain if he doesn't go. Secondly, he'll get along with Ron. And also, just take him with you!"

"Why? No!" I blinked at him. "Why don't you both go and burn the kitchen down again."

"Because that's what we plan to do when you're off to Hogwarts?"

"Unbelievable. I miss out all the fun. This family hates me." I grumbled. "Harry, hurry up!" I shouted. "How are we even supposed to get there?"

"I think you're forgetting that we're wizards. Floo powder is the way to go, sweetheart." Dad answered with a wink. "If only I could become a dog like Padfoot. It's way more conspicuous if a stag shows up at diagon alley. A dog? No one would even notice."

"That's your fault." I chuckled. "Should've become a dog."

"That's not how it works." He shook his head. "The form of an animagus is based on someone's personality." Dad explained, patting my shoulder.

"I guess that makes sense. Isn't your patronus a stag?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"Who the hell taught you about patronuses?"

"A textbook."

"Stop being smart." Dad frowned. "Wait! No! Be smart! Your mother was smart."

"Um so... The answer is a yes?"

"Yup." He nodded. The sound of someome running down the stairs could be heard, and the presence of a ten year old Harry Potter was finally established.

"I'm sorry I took so long."

"As you should be. What were you doing? Writing love letters to some girl?"

"What? Of course not." Harry let out, his face heating up a little. "That's a daft suggestion."

"I'm onto you, son." Dad joked, narrowing his eyes at us.

"We're running late now, Har." I frowned, tapping my nonexistent watch. Dad let out a chuckle, pushing us in the direction of the fireplace and handing us some floo powder.

"Have a good day you two!" He said with a grin. "You know what to do, right?"

The two of us nodded, exchanging glances. We stepped towards him and gave him a hug.

"I'll go first." I told them, stepping inside the fireplace. Several seconds after throwing the floo powder, everything around me turned dark before I was enveloped by light and the sound of people conversing.

* * *

Diagon Alley was a strange place to be. Anything a wizard needed could be found here. Numerous cobblestoned shops sat next to each other, each one with a different purpose. Robes, telescopes, quills, parchment, potion books, donkey eyes and even globes of the moon were available. As I said; anything a wizard needed.

Harry and I stood close to each other, quietly walking behind the Weasley family who were merrily bantering away. Their red heads were visible from miles away and in a way, I was almost confident that it would be a challenge and a half to actually get lost and not be able to find them.

"So, you're Harry. Who're you?" One of the boys asked. He looked to be about Harry's age and he glanced between the two of us as if he'd be able to work out my name through my appearance.

"Hope." I responded plainly, not sure of what else to really say. "Er... What's your name?"

"Ronald. But everyone just calls me Ron." He answered in an almost proud manner.

"Oh my, look what we have here! Is young Ronny attempting to flirt with someone?" One of the other Weasleys asked, looking down at his younger brother and letting out a laugh. He was one of the twins and despite what people say about 'two twins, half the personality', these guys appeared to have twice the personality. "Fred, look here! He's gone as red as his hair."

"N-no I haven't!" Ron protested, his face contradicting his words. He let out a huff, to which Harry chuckled.

"They're energetic, I'll give them that." Harry mumbled out of their earshot. I nodded.

"They'd get along well with dad, don't you think?" I mused, glancing at the boys who were now squabbling in the middle of the crowded alleyway.

"You miss him." Harry teased. "I thought you'd be glad to get away from home after so long."

"That's true. But this is something that I've always wanted to do with him here. But he's not here, he can't be here. I get that but it still makes me sad because it makes me wonder how much fun it would've been if it was all three of us."

"More like all four of us." Harry said under his breath. I frowned, not bothering to dispute the point as I let out a sigh.

"I suppose there's no point dwelling on the 'what ifs'. At least we have each other, that's all that matters."

"You're right-"

"On the other hand, it seems the Potter family are having a heart to heart!" One of the twins announced in a commentator's voice.

"Do you mind?" I asked rhetorically, crossing my arms. He mimicked me, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at me.

"No, I don't think I do."

"Right, well, who are you?"

"You came with us, shouldn't you already know?" He teased.

"I know your _parents_, not you." I corrected in a firm voice.

"My my, Georgie it looks like we found a fiesty one."

"So I suppose your name is Fred then, and he's George?"

"Smart and fiesty. I'd say you're an interesting person." Fred (?) stated, nodding to himself as though he were a detective. "What about the boy who lived? He's destined to be an interesting character."

"Don't you think of bullying my little brother." I told them, trying to seem protective while biting back the urge to laugh. Harry gave me a quizical look, his eyes flickering between me and the twins before going back to his conversation with Ron.

"Oh no, we wouldn't dream of that, Miss Potter." George (or Fred?) chuckled. "Say, do you play Quidditch?"

"Well, I was raised around muggles. Remember?" I lied. Despite wanting to tell the truth, I knew that I couldn't. Little slip ups would give away our family's secret. "But there's a squib who lives on our road that told us about it. It sounds fun."

"It is." Fred (Definitely him now) chimed in. "George and I are beaters. Great game that."

"Certainly does sound like it is. Anyway, which store are we going to?" I asked, deciding to change the topic.

Fred and George exchanged a look before glancing at the surroundings. "I'd say we're off to Flourish and Blotts - that's where you'll find your school books," George informed. "Though, mum's probably gonna have us split up since you need to buy a wand too. You got any money on you?"

"Fifty galleons, seventy five sickles and a hundred and fourty knuts." I responded calmly. "Will that be enough?"

"Bloody hell." Fred mumbled. "I think that's more than enough. Guess I forgot the Potters were a rich bunch."

"When did you have time to go to gringotts?" George asked inquisitively.

"Right before you all came." Another lie. At this point, I was going to make a habit of it. The truth was, we met the Weasleys at the leaky cauldron less than three minutes after we showed up. However, I couldn't exactly say that my supposedly dead father handed me a pouch containing more than enough money before I came.

A few minutes passed as we weaved our way through the crowd, busying away in conversation. At some point I noticed that there was a little girl who stood close to Mrs Weasley. Through some expertise I later learnt her name was Ginny and she was the only daughter of the family. I tried talking to her later on, but she seemed scared of me and ran off, much to my dismay. I really did hope we could've become friends.

George's prediction had been right through and through. We ended up stopping in front of Flourish and Blotts, somehow managing not to get trampled by the masses around us. Molly turned to me, a kind smile on her face. "Arthur, Ginny and I'll buy your books for you, Hope dear. You go ahead with the boys and get yourself a wand, alright?"

"Thank you." I responded politely, smiling back at her. Fetching out roughly 15 galleons from my pocket, I handed them to her along with the list that I was given.

"Listen here you two, you best not make her uncomfortable or cause a mess anywhere." Mrs Weasley scolded, turning to the twins. "And for the love of God, don't leave Ron somewhere or Harry'll get lost too."

"It's fine, mum." George brushed off. "You're worrying too much."

"Don't be too long! Take care." She told all of us.

"Alright. You take care too, Mrs Weasley." I replied.

"No, no. Call me Molly." She told me firmly. It didn't seem like the best idea to face her wrath, so I just gave in without as much as a whisper of denial.

"And call me Arthur." Mr Weasley chipped in, a friendly smile on his face. "Right, we should be off now Molly, we're standing in everyone's way."

"You're right. Okay. See you all soon." Molly said, walking inside Flourish and Blotts.

"Let's get my wand super quickly so we can all get some ice cream." I suggested after they were out of sight. "My treat."

"Well, who could say no to that?" Fred chuckled, grabbing my shoulders and beginning to steer me through the crowd. "Hurry, hurry! Let's get Hopey a wand so we can quickly get ice-cream before mum nags us to death."


	3. Chapter 2

He couldn't have been taller than twenty three centimeters. Lime tinted eyes and mahogany shaded feathers dotted with specs of white. He hooted twice before silencing himself.

"That's quite a small owl you got." Dad commented, looking over the little owl.

I nodded. "Well he is literally a little owl." The words sounded more sarcastic than I wanted. "Do you have any ideas for what we should call him?"

"Owlbus Dumbledore." Dad joked.

"How about Hedwig?" Harry suggested, looking up from the book he was reading on the sofa.

"You should call your owl that when you get one. I don't think it'd suit this little guy."

"Maybe I will." He shrugged. "I don't get why you got such a small one."

"Neither do I." Dad visibly agreed, nodding his head.

"Well, it's because he's cute. Also the bigger owls scared me." I rushed out the lateral part, looking to the side in slight embarrassment.

"You're afraid of owls?" Harry asked, amusement clear in his voice.

"Shut up." I grumbled, grabbing a cushion and throwing it at him.

"Now now, I'm sure Hope has a justified reason for her fear." Dad's eyes glinted with mischief and it was as if he knew the actual reason. They knew how easily I was frightened of things, so they would always tease me about it. I didn't mind though, it was usually just harmless jokes.

"Yeah. Um... Their beaks were scary." My words came out sheepish, a slight tremble in my voice as I admitted the truth.

Both Harry and dad looked at one another, a serious look on their face as they exchanged glances before looking at me and bursting into laughter.

"It's not funny!" I protested, crossing my arms and puffing my cheeks out. Turning to the owl, my eyes fondly observed it's appearance. "Hmm... Rowlph." I mumbled, a grin on my face.

"Rowlph?" Dad repeated, his tone somewhat quizical. He nodded his head at the owl. "Well, looks like you didn't need me to name him." He joked.

"Well, what do you think of the name?"

"Oh, now I've simply been downgraded to an opinion?" The eldest Potter raised an eyebrow at me, a look of mock hurt on his face which threatened to enter his tone.

"No! Of course not. Harry, tell him."

"I don't know, sis. Looks to me that dad's right." Harry responded cheekily, mischief clear in his words.

"He's not!" I grumbled, covering my face and letting out a groan.

"The name is nice." Dad told me, letting out a laugh and pushing his glasses up with his knuckles. His ebony hair almost falling in front of his face before he pulled the strands away. "I think I'd have suggested it if I was smart enough to think of it. Your mother would've rolled her eyes at it though."

A small silence enveloped the room. Lily Potter was someone we often talked about. People say that by holding onto someone who's no longer with you, you only cling onto the grief for far longer. But dad tells us that it's a way of keeping her in our hearts, and I couldn't agree more. I'd rather have heard about my mum growing up than having simply heard whispers of her name like we did in the Dursley's household.

We have pictures of her. Some of them are enchanted and they move, but others are still, her smile captured in a small frame. A small reminder of the past.

Dad often mentions how Harry was a mummy's boy while I was a daddy's girl. He talks about how our mother was one of the bravest people he'd ever have the fortune of meeting. And at times a tear will begin to glisten in the corner of his eyes, although I doubt he knows that we've noticed.

Occasionally, we hear him crying softly to himself, that often happens in the dead of night. When he'll send us off to bed but Harry and I end up staying up and talking until late. Those cries used to turn into full on sobs, especially when we first came here. I guess there was that element of having to look after us without her here with us.

Despite it all, it was almost certain in my mind that James Potter was an amazing father.

The silence left the room smoothly, the three of us refusing to acknowledge that it had been there in the first place as we absorbed ourselves in another conversation. Harry talked about a gnome that he encountered, dad complained about burning his finger while making dinner and how he was going to stop making food the "muggle way" (I'm pretty sure that was the only way to make food but apparently not). Me? Yeah, I kinda just talked about a new book I started reading.

Due to the fact that we lived in almost complete isolation, we often didn't have the most exciting of things to talk about. Sometimes we'd repeat stories that we'd heard before. Sometimes we'd just sit in silence as we ate our food. Playing board games got too boring at some point and I didn't take to Quidditch as well as my younger brother did. So whenever Harry and dad would play, I'd just sit on the side and watch them or doodle something in the corner of my notebook.

Though, moving back to Godric's Hollow felt much better than living in the previous manor did. Two years after we started living with our father, he decided to repair the damage done to our cottage. Although it would never be the same, it felt like home. And it certainly felt much more safer for some reason, though perhaps that was partially due to the protective wards dad set around them.

* * *

But just as slowly as time passed here, it passed just as fast. Within a matter of days we were standing on platform nine and three-quarters, the sound of other families saying goodbye to their children along with the sound of a train halting echoed around the station, easily dismissed by the other people present. Harry and I exchanged a laugh as we saw a boy run into the wrong wall, the funnier part was when a young girl no older than six years told him what wall he was actually supposed to run into.

"I wish he were here." I thought out loud after having run through the wall. It seemed that the more involved I became with the wizarding war, the more I realised how much of my life my father would have to miss.

Harry nodded, pressing his lips together before deciding to speak. "You know what it's like," he shrugged off half-heartedly. "But it does suck. He must've been looking forward to seeing you off too."

"I hate this." My lips quivered slightly and I wasn't sure why I was beginning to get emotional. Was it the fact that my own father couldn't see me off because he could potentially be harmed? Was it the fact that I lost my mother to a death eater, and I could lose my father too at any moment? Or was it the fact that it finally dawned on me that the world outside Godric's Hollow, the Potter's manor or Privet Drive was much bigger? Suddenly, everything just felt a lot more heavier.

"Same." Harry agreed, his tone lacking my level of emotion but still carrying a tone of heaviness. "They're good people, Hope. No matter what anyone says, you shouldn't forget that."

"Look who's trying to lecture me." I laughed, blinking back the stupid tears beginning to form. "I'll write to you, alright? Don't be a nuisance and make sure you look after dad. He'll probably miss mum even more for a bit." I instructed, ruffling his hair.

"Of course," He smiled, looking up at me. "I'll miss you too."

"Ah, well who cares about you, you sod?" I joked before speaking softly. "I'll miss you too, Har."

Noticing that people were beginning to board the train, I wrapped my arms around my younger brother. "Take care, Hope." Harry's voice was a whisper and it almost sounded like he was making a request. I pulled away from him, placing a kiss on top of his head and nodded.

"Of course. You and dad take care too, okay? I don't want to come back and see you've burned down our home."

"Oh, is that the Potters?" A familiar voice laughed, and noticed a mop of red hair.

"Is that a Weasley?" I asked, fake shock evident in my voice as I placed a hand over my mouth.

"Oh wow, how did you guess?" The older boy laughed.

"Which twin are you?"

"Fred."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I placed my hands on the trolley, waving to Harry one last time. "Hello, George." I responded, turning my attention back to him.

"Okay, seriously, how did you guess that?" George inquired, his eyes widening.

"You both seem like the type to always pull something like that."

"Ugh, you got us." He laughed, boarding the train after me. Our luggage had been taken from us and was presumably going to be magically transported to Hogwarts or come aboard the last few compartments of the train. Either way, I didn't really mind. "How have you been?"

"Are we best friends now?" My voice sounded surprised. "Why are you asking me about my life?"

"Obviously not _best_ friends." He rolled his eyes. "But I'd say good aquaintances. So, I think I'm in my bounds to ask that."

"We've met once."

"And yet, you practically already know me. Heck, you can even tell I'm not Fred. Doing much better than our own mother, you are." He pointed out, a grin on his face. "You never answered my question."

"Doing great, kinda excited for this all." My gaze was fixed on George as he opened the door to an empty compartment. "Come on."

"Who said that I'm going to sit with you?" I teased, a trace of playfulness merging with my words. His mocha eyes narrowed as he pouted slightly and pushed me inside the compartment.

"I said you're going to sit with me, so you are." George huffed childishly, sitting across me. "Besides, you don't know anyone else aside from me and Fred here."

"Not true." I grumbled, wracking my brain as I tried to think of anyone else that I actually knew. "Well... There's Percy and Charlie."

The door to the compartment opened up again as another red head entered and sat down next to his twin. "Who'd wanna hang out with stuck up Perce?" He joked, glancing between me and George.

"I'm sure he has friends." I shrugged half-heartedly.

The duo exchanged a look before fixing their gaze onto me. "Friends? Percy? You must be joking!"

"You're too mean," Letting out a huff, I pushed some raven strands of hair away. "He can't be all that bad."

"You don't know him like we do," George started. "He's well stuck up, always brags about his grades."

"Don't forget about how he's gonna become the '_minister'_ one day." Fred jeered, wrinkling his nose at the mention. "He's such a sod."

"What a crusty wet wipe." I mumbled.

"What?" George laughed, a puzzled look in his eyes. "That's one insult I never expected to hear."

"Right, enough of all that garbage about that idiot." Fred sighed, turning his attention solely to me. "What house do you think you're going to be sorted into?"

"I'm not even sure she knows the houses, Freddie." George joked.

"Of course I do. I read up on it." A frown found itself on my lips as I let out a slow exhale. "Probably Gryffindor? I heard someone in Diagon Alley say that mum and dad were in Gryffindor."

"Doesn't mean you will be." Fred chuckled.

George looked at me for a moment, observing me before turning to Fred. "Two sickles say that she's a Ravenclaw."

"Two say she's a Gryffindor." The other twin shrugged.

"Are you honestly betting on me?" Blinking at them in shock, a part of me didn't know what answer I expected.

"Something like that. Yeah." George replied nonchalantly, his chestnut eyes staring at the door. "Honeydukes express is about to stop here."

"The what?"

"Honeydukes express. That's the snack trolley." Fred explained to me.

My lips formed an O shape. "I see. You guys gonna get anything?"

"Obviously." George responded, dumbfounded at my question.

"I'll pay then." I shrugged, my voice indifferent.

"It's fine, you don't have to." Fred assured but I shook my head at him.

"I want to. And besides, you guys were nice enough to let me sit with you, so this is my way of repaying that."

Just before Fred could open his mouth to dispute my point, the door opened and a kind lady peered in. "Would you like anything?"

Quickly, my eyes scanned the items on the trolley, most of which I wasn't able to identify. "A bit of everything and three bottles of iced pumpkin juice, please." I smiled, ignoring the twins' reactions as I fetched out a handful of sickles from my pocket. "How much'll that be?"

"Fifteen sickles." She replied.

Counting out fifteen sickles, I handed them to her and took the snacks from her while Fred took the pumpkin juice.

"You really didn't have to do that." Fred spoke in an exasperated manner, the lady having walked away. I raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

"It's fine. Honestly." I brushed off, taking around two thirds of the content and tossing it at George.

"What kind of snacks do you have in the Muggle world?" George asked genuinely.

"You have Mars bars, Skittles, Pringles, Smarties, stuff like that." I informed.

"I have no idea what any of those things are."

"They're nice, if you ever get the chance you should try them."

The rest of the journey was smooth. The three of us talked about several different things and sometimes we'd just sit there in silence until one of us decided to annoy another. At some point, George even tossed in a ghost story, much to my dismay. It was easy to talk to the twins and although I couldn't tell them everything about me, I certainly felt like I had grown closer to them. Occasionally someone would enter our compartment and have a conversation with us before walking off. All of them except someone called Lee Jordan who sat next to me through the last hour of the ride.

* * *

When we got there, Hogwarts seemed much more grand than it did in any pictures. While I tried to hide my awe, it wasn't done exactly well. The boys all laughed at my reaction and I flipped them off.

The sorting ceremony also passed by in a flash and several names later, I heard my name being called. My footsteps echoed around the strangely quiet hall as I took a seat, trying to brush away the feeling that everyone was staring at me.

"Your parents were both Gryffindors." The hat stated, probably assessing the contents of my brain. "Definitely not a Slytherin. Should I put you in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? Hmm... You're smart, but reckless. This is a tough one..."

"Please put me in Gryffindor." I thought to myself, sealing my eyes shut as I anticipated the booming voice of the sorting hat. Doubt filled me. What if it couldn't hear my thoughts?

"Hope Potter," The hat announced. "Gryffindor."


	4. Chapter 3

"Hope Potter," The voice announced, "Gryffindor!"

Several eyes turned on me as I stood up, my eyes scanned the room hastily before resting at the Gryffindor table. As if the previous whispers from the mention of my name weren't enough, they had multiplied in numbers and were more than simply audible.

It's alright, I assured myself, rushing over to the table. Soon enough they'd be quiet.

Somehow that thought alone wasn't enough to succour me.

I walked down the side of the table, refusing to look at anyone who was already seated in the fear that they'd begin interrogating me. My main objective was to find an empty space to sit in.

Have you ever noticed that whenever you feel nervous or when anxiety washes over you, time seems to tick by twice as slow than it usually does. Every second feels like a minute. Every footstep sounds daunting. Every whisper sounds like a shout. Or maybe that's just me being melodramatic in this very moment. It was at times like this where I scorned myself for how emotional I could get.

A sudden tug pulled me from my thoughts, forcing me to take a seat. Sheepishly tossing out a mumble of appreciation, I found myself seated next to a girl who I noticed had been sorted a few names before me. This was certainly not the kind of first impression I was hoping to make.

"No worries." She shrugged off, a small smile on her face. "Hope Potter, right?"

"The one and only." I chuckled back in response.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Debra Hearting."

"I like your name."

"Seriously? I hate it. It's so... Old fashioned."

"No, it's not."

Debra raised an eyebrow at me, not convinced by my words but decided not to argue the point. Her dark eyes turned their attention from me back towards the ceremony. She was pretty; winsome even. That much was visible to anyone who wasn't blind to beauty. Flawless dark skin, a flat nose, long eyelashes, full lips, chocolate brown eyes, a small face and coiled hair that went down to her mid back. It was hard to resist the urge to continue to stare at her.

"Look at that nerd." She commented a while later, her eyes following a newly sorted Ravenclaw who opened a book as soon as he sat down. To our transparent dismay, the sorting ceremony still droned on. As more and more names were called, the two of us became more and more restless. The only interesting thing to have taken place after my own sorting must have been the small exchanged I witness out of the corner of my eyes with the Weasley twins. A minute after I sat down, Fred poked his younger brother who scoffed before placing two sickles in the former's hand. Their friend, Lee Jordan, seemed to be looking on. Amusement written on his face. Forcing myself to return back to reality, I cleared my throat and answered Debra.

"Where did he even get the book from?" My expression couldn't have been anything short of quizzical at the boy's actions, a low laugh leaving me. Debra shrugged her shoulders plainly. It was clear that she had no idea herself.

"Beats me." Debra mumbled. "Where there's a will, there's always a way."

"That's right," I paused, glancing at the ceremony. "Ugh, when is this going to end? I just want to eat."

"Right?" She giggled. "The food here looks great, why can't we just start eating?" She added with an exasperated sigh, contradicting the small smile on her countenance.

I looked around for a moment, a grin on my face. "I'm sure no one would notice if we started eating."

"Well in that case," Debra grabbed a loaf of bread. "Let them eat bread! Well... Let us eat bread."

"You know about the French Revolution?" My tone was filled with surprise, which matched the look on Debra's face after she heard what I said.

"What on earth is that?" She blinked at me. "I just said it because I heard it on TV at some point."

"Oh... The French Revolution is an event in Muggle history. I suppose it doesn't matter now." I mumbled, more so to myself.

"Are you sure you're not meant to be in Ravenclaw?" She teased, stuffing her mouth with bread.

I violently shook my head. "The sorting hat mentioned I could have been in Ravenclaw, but... Yeah." Debra's upper lip raised at my words, forming a smile.

"Well," She pat my arm gently, turning her attention back to the bread she was holding. "I'm glad you were sorted into Gryffindor. You seem to be great."

I grinned at her, leaning over to take a loaf of bread. But before I could say anything, I felt someone glare at me. "Hey!" They called out in a hushed yet angry voice. "You're not supposed to eat yet."

"I won't tell if you won't."

"... Okay." She shrugged, leaning over and grabbing a loaf of bread. I raised an eyebrow at her. She had unkempt brown hair that went down to her shoulders, her eyes were slightly darker than her hair yet her mien was kind.

"What's your name?" I asked curiously.

"Katie. Katie Bell." Katie introduced with a grin, mouth half full of bread. "I know who you are. Hope Potter. Kid of James and Lily Potter."

"Hey, you're already famous." Debra nudged and I chuckled through my nose in response.

"If you think _I'm_ famous, wait until you meet my little brother next year."

* * *

Over the next few days, the three of us quickly became friends. In our flying lessons, Katie excelled while I still managed to fall off the broom mere moments later. Debra would laugh at my expense, usually falling immediately afterwards herself. I was better at transfiguration and potions, to my surprise. On the other hand, Debra was brilliant with charms. Katie was incredibly kind, to the point where I doubted she could hurt a fly no matter how hard she tried. Debra had a bit of an attitude at times, often talking back to teachers under her breath whenever she got told off. Despite that, I found her to be funny, and her intentions seemed to mean well.

"I don't get how you're not bored." Debra whispered, leaning in slightly. Her eyes were fixed on our potions teacher, Professor Snape.

I shrugged my shoulders at her. "It's not the worst subject out there. At least we're learning _something_." My thoughts drifted to our Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, who couldn't teach to save their life. She was a middle aged woman who often ended up droning on about her problems instead of teaching us, so loads of us didn't have a clue about the subject.

"Yeah, but Snape _clearly_ has it out for you." Debra sighed, her dark eyes glaring at him.

I shook my head, suppressing a small laugh. "No, he doesn't."

"Miss Potter," Snape's voice shot up at that very moment. My body froze, straightening up as I noticed him striding towards me. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

"N-no, sir." I frowned, looking down.

"Five points deducted from Gryffindor." He announced, I felt Debra tense next to me.

"With all due respect, that's not fair Professor!" She exclaimed, her tone taking on a slight aggression.

"Another five points deducted from Gryffindor. Don't question me again, Miss Hearting." I must have been imagining things, but I could swear that I saw a small smirk on his face as he turned to walk away.

"Is he for real." My friend scoffed, crossing her arms. "I told you he has it out for you! That bloody snake."

"Maybe he does. But I don't know why! I haven't done anything, have I?"

She shook her head at me, cautiously looking at Snape out of the corner of her eyes so not to get caught again. I followed suit, waiting until he walked away to carry on our conversation. "Not that I know of."

"Well then, this is absurd." I whispered back furiously, turning to look at her with a confused expression on my face. "That's completely unjustified."

"Tell me about it." She frowned again, angrily poking at her textbook with her quill. "If only there was some way to find out."

"Maybe he's just like that with all Gryffindors? He even went off at you." I reasoned, to which she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know man, he seems kind of fixed on dragging you down."

_Maybe I should ask dad if he knew Snape back in school, maybe he just hates people who are good at something he's good at_, I thought to myself. Shaking my head absently at Debra's words. "I don't want to assume the worst." I thought outloud.

"Miss Potter," Snape hissed out. "I've had enough of you disrupting my class. Detention. Tonight."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," The redhead adorned a proud look on his face, as he turned to face me properly. Over the past few minutes, I explained what happened during my potion's class with Snape to the Weasley twins. Both of who had been curious about my bad mood ever since they had seen me in the common room after classes were over. "You've been here for less than a month and you've already gotten detention? From that greasy Snape too?"

I frowned, looking down at my book and nodding. "Yeah. Deb thinks he's got it out for me."

"Why's that?" George interjected, genuine curiosity in his voice.

Currently, I was sitting on one of the sofas in the common room. At some point, the twins had joined me, taking a seat on either side of me. Unamused that I failed to note their presence. One of them, I presume Fred, cleared their throat. Letting a sigh leave me, I was forced to look up to meet their gazes at that point.

"God knows." Honestly, I was getting a headache from mulling over why myself.

"Don't take it personally, he's probably just been looking for an excuse to screw over our house." Fred consoled. "He's a bloody git when it all comes down to it. You just can't expect much better from Slytherins."

"They're not all bad." I pointed out.

"Sure. Not _all_. But most of them are, right Georgie?"

"Absolutely."

"You should skip your detention." Fred suggested.

"Maybe you can test out one of our products for us instead!" George tossed in cheekily.

Was it bad for me to admit that I had actually considered it? Dad probably won't be angry. Heck, I'm almost sure he would write me a letter with a smile on his face if he found out about my detention. Not that I wasn't going to tell him, I certainly was. But I was adamant to find out why Professor Snape disliked me so much, if he even had it out for me in the first place that was.

"Hey? Hope?" George softly called out, waving a hand in front of my face to grab my attention. Shaking my head, I blinked and turned to face him.

"Sorry." A measly chuckle left through my nose as I placed a lock of hair behind my ear. "Your offer sounds incredibly tempting lads, but I'm afraid I'll have to do a rain check on it."

Fred frowned at my words, pulling my arm to sit me back down as I got up. "You didn't do anything wrong though." He reasoned, placing an arm around me. "So there's no point going. Besides, you can just hang out with me and George. Please? You haven't spent any time with us ever since you came here. And I even won a bet on you!"

"Yes, which you got two sickles for." I pointed out, rolling my eyes as I gently moved his arm off me and stood up. "I'm sorry, I just got a little caught up. This is all new to me, you know?" Looking at the twin's crestfallen expressions, a pang of regret hit me. "Fine," I started, folding my arms and staring the two down. "I'll join in on your next prank or whatever. Alright?"

Their faces lit up and they shared a brief look with one another before nodding eagerly. "Good idea!" Fred applaud, clasping his hands. "We're already got an idea for our next prank. And it's going to be a good one, trust me!"

"Well, you'll have to tell me about it when I get back, won't you?"

George grinned at me, nodding his head. "You're going to love our little idea."

"I don't doubt that." I replied playfully, tucking my book in under my arm. "I'll see you in a bit then, boys." By that point I had turned around, already halfway across the common room. But despite that, I could hear the two of them shouting a goodbye to me and beginning to scheme. Unwillingly, a sigh escaped me. Merlin's beard... I do hope I don't end up getting into more trouble than this is all worth.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry that this took so long to write up. I just got busy with life. Even though that's a lame excuse, it's the only one I have.**

**Truth be told, at this point of the story, there's not much I can write about. Most of the action will come later on, but until then I'm trying to focus on the relationship between the main character and the people around her. But if that's too boring because, let's face it, filler chapters get annoying after a bit. Then please tell me so I can try and integrate a time skip somewhere. Thanks.**

**-Leo**

**P.S: Stay at home, lads.**


	5. Hiatus Notice

**Words can't contain how heavy my feelings are at having to announce this. But this series is going on indefinite hiatus.**

**Right**** now, I'm stuck in a rut when it comes to this fic. This kind of story has been written over and over again, so it doesn't exactly stand out. No matter how many nights I spend thinking of a way to make it original in some way, shape or form, I can't think of anything concrete. So I regret to inform any of you who wished to keep up with this series, that I'll no longer be updating it.**

**However, I'm not giving up on writing. I've**** got another idea for a fic right now, something which is more fleshed out than this. It's set in the marauder's era if that interests any of you. If you continue to support me and my writing, I'll be forever grateful for it. But if you don't, then that's perfectly fine.**

**Perhaps**** someday I'll revisit this story and finish it off. But for now, I don't think I'll be able to. I'll never be able to explain how sorry I am**.

**Regardless****, thank you for reading this up to this point. It has always, and will always, mean a lot to me.**

**\- Leo**


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